I love making my pets special homemade treats! And I know by making my own, the ingredients are of good quality. It seems like frequently you hear about tainted dog food, treats, etc especially from foreign countries. Here are some of my pets’ favorites (granted, my critters are not picky):
For Dogs:
Good Dog Treats:
Ingredients:
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 3/4 cup toasted wheat germ
- 1/4 cup brewers yeast
- 1/3 cup natural chunky peanut butter
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
Preparation:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large shallow baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine the flour, wheat germ and brewers yeast in a medium bowl. Whisk together the peanut butter, egg, broth and oil in a separate bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir with a spoon or rubber spatula until a rough dough forms. Knead the dough in the bowl 5-6 times until it comes together.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll to a 1/4-inch thickness. With a 3-inch dog bone shaped cookie cutter, cut out treats and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Press all the scraps together, kneading once or twice, then roll out to 1/4-inch thickness and cut out more treats; repeat if necessary.
- Bake treats until lightly browned and fairly hard, rotating the pans from top to bottom once, about 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely; biscuits will harden as they cool. Store in an airtight container. Recipe courtesy of myrecipes.com
For Cats:
Savory Cheese Treats:
- 3/4 cup white flour
- 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 5 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
- 1/4 cup cornmeal
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine cheeses and yogurt. Add flour and cornmeal. If needed, add a small amount of water to create a nice dough. Knead dough into a ball and roll to 1/4 inch. Cut into one inch sized pieces and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 25 minutes. Makes 2 dozen. Courtesy of PetPlace.com
For Horses
Organic Apple Oatmeal Horse Treats
(Preheat oven to 350 degrees.)
Ingredients:
3 cups organic uncooked old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup organic applesauce
¼ cup organic molasses
½ cup organic flour
Directions:
- Mix together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
- Next, add the molasses and applesauce and stir until well-incorporated.
- Once mixed, form the thick batter into teaspoon-sized balls and place them close together (but not touching) on a sprayed* cookie tray.
- Bake the treats for 15 to 20 minutes and then remove from oven.
- Leave the treats on the tray for 5 minutes to allow time for the treats to cool and harden.
- Once completely cool, store the treats in an airtight container.
- *When making treats, spray the cookie trays with coconut oil, a substitute of your choice, or grease the pans with butter.
(Thanks go out to Mother Earth News for this recipe.)
